Alchemy in the Bible

In this thy book, such will there nothing see, As in the Bible some can find out alchemy. - John Donne

A few months ago, I had written a popular article about Gnostic Bible Verses that many of you enjoyed. Some of you were not aware that there are many Gnostic teachings in the bible that we modern followers of Gnosis can utilize for our own benefit.

In this article, I would like to list some of the teachings on alchemy that I have found in the bible. Alchemy is the science of mastering the chemical energies of our minds and bodies in order to operate at the most effective optimum level as a human. A science, that can literally transform our entire bodies and energies. A science, that can not only prevent and cure disease, but also improve the quality and prolong our lives.

An example of alchemy in the bible, would be when Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the Judaean Desert after being baptized . What Jesus was doing in the desert, was alchemy in the form of solitude, prayer, and fasting. By going into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus was tempted by the devil, but he was successfully able to cleanse these impure thoughts, not only in his mind, but also impurities from his body. What this bible passage is describing, is the alchemical transformation of his whole chemical make up, into a new heavenly one made of the stars. The ascension of Jesus to heaven then occurs 40 days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3). As Jesus had said In Revelation 22:16, he unmistakably identifies Himself as the morning star.

Comparing alchemy and the bible is nothing new, but a revival of the hidden biblical teachings that many people have interpreted since the early beginnings of Christianity and especially during the Renaissance. Much of the alchemical writings of these biblical scholars had went underground during the Renaissance, when the Church of England had banned many of these teachings.

One of the most famous interpreters of the bible during this time was Paracelsus. Paracelsus (born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, 11 November or 17 December 1493 – 24 September 1541) was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist. He founded the discipline of toxicology and modern psychology, that often also credits him for being the first to note that some diseases are rooted in psychological illness. Paracelsus had also used the teachings of the bible and science to help interpret some of his alchemical teachings.

Paracelsus was a true man of God, who was also a Gnostic that walked the walk, and talked the talk. He was known as a fiercely independent thinker whose thoughts and teachings went against the status quo of the medical and religious establishments. Paracelsus was openly defiant against mainstream medicine because his ideas were very different from that of his medical colleagues. And we all know what happens when someone goes against the establishment... They are simply taken down and outcast from the mainstream, as it was in the case of Paracelsus.

Here is an example of one of these incidents that Paracelsus had to face after he had actually cured a prominent ecclesiastic of gout; then when he demanded a fee for his services, he was accused of necromancy, sorcery, and drunkenness.

After Paracelsus had been lecturing in the University of Basel for about two years he was called to a prominent ecclesiastic who was suffering from the pangs of gout. Paracelsus agreed to cure the Bible into German. Priests and doctors before his sufferer for 100 florins, and produced immediate relief by the administration of "laudanum pills," probably similar to our laudanum. He then demanded his fee, which was refused by the prudent ecclesiastic, and the matter was finally taken into the courts.

The defendant not only declined to pay the bill, but publicly accused Paracelsus of necromancy, sorcery, and drunkenness. After hearing the case the court decided in favor of the priest, whereupon the professor issued a violent and abusive manifesto against the judge. This did not go well in the little republic of Switzerland, and led to the inauguration of steps to visit upon the offender condign punishment for contempt of court. The professor having got wind of this fled with great precipitation, and thus sacrificed his professorship and his position as city physician.

Isaac Newton had also written occult works that had explored chronology, alchemy, and Biblical interpretation (especially of the Apocalypse). As a Bible scholar, Newton was initially interested in the sacred geometry of Solomon's Temple, such as golden sections, conic sections, spirals, orthographic projection, and other harmonious constructions, but he also believed that the dimensions and proportions represented more. He noted that the temple's measurements given in the Bible are mathematical problems, related to solutions for and the volume of a hemisphere, , and in a larger sense that they were references to the size of the Earth and man's place and proportion to it. (Issac Newton Sourced from Wikipedia)

In 1675 Newton annotated a copy of Manna - a disquisition of the nature of alchemy, an anonymous treatise which had been given to him by his fellow scholar Ezekiel Foxcroft. In his annotation Newton reflected upon his reasons for examining Solomon's Temple by writing:

This philosophy, both speculative and active, is not only to be found in the volume of nature, but also in the sacred scriptures, as in Genesis, Job, Psalms, Isaiah and others. In the knowledge of this philosophy, God made Solomon the greatest philosopher in the world.

Proverbs 27:21 - [As] the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so [is] a man to his praise.

Revelation 3:18 - I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

1 John 3:1-24 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Timothy Chapter 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: and 6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

Exodus 4:1-31 - And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

Genesis 2:22 - And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Genesis 2:7 - And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Revelation 2:17 - He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].

Matthew 4:1-25 - Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Psalms 106:22 - Wondrous works in the land of Ham, [and] terrible things by the Red sea.

Exodus 32:19-20 - And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Exodus 7:17 - Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that [is] in mine hand upon the waters which [are] in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

Mark 8:36 - For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

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